Tag: Chinese

2 men charged with running covert Chinese ‘police station’ in Manhattan

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The station identified Monday occupied an entire floor of an office building in Manhattan’s Chinatown before closing in 2022, according to prosecutors. During its operation, it was tasked with “helping locate a person of interest” to the Chinese government, prosecutors said.
The defendants were set to appear in court Monday afternoon.
Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said the case “reveals the Chinese government’s flagrant violation of our nation’s sovereignty.”
“Such a police station has no place here in New York City — or any American community,” Peace said in a statement Monday.
Brooklyn federal prosecutors also unsealed two other related cases Monday: one charging 34 officers of China’s national police with harassing Chinese nationals in New York and elsewhere in the U.S., and another charging eight Chinese government officials with directing an employee of a U.S. telecommunications company to remove Chinese dissidents from its platform.
Prosecutors described the 34 officers as having created a “troll farm” consisting of thousands of fake online personas on social media sites, including Twitter, to target Chinese nationals living in the U.S. who held political views in opposition to those of the People’s Republic of China or who promoted democracy in China.
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#men #charged #running #covert #Chinese #police #station #Manhattan
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 18, 2023
Chinese national accused of blasphemy shifted in a Pakistan Army chopper

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Islamabad: A Chinese national, who has been arrested on charges of blasphemy, was shifted from Upper Kohistan to Abbottabad in a Pakistan Army helicopter on Monday afternoon over safety fears, Komila SHO Naseeruddin said, as per media reports.
The accused, who works at the Dasu hydropower project, was taken into custody by the Komila police on Sunday night after labourers at the site accused him of blasphemy, Dawn reported.
SHO Naseeruddin, while confirming the arrest, said that an FIR had been registered against the Chinese national at the Komila police station.

The complaint invokes Section 295-C (use of derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet) of the Pakistan Penal Code. It was registered on the complaint of Gulistan and Yasir – both of whom are heavy vehicle drivers, Dawn reported.
The complaint said that on Sunday night, police official Jehanzeb was informed about a mob trying to break into a Chinese camp near Barseen.
It stated that locals had staged a protest and damaged the camp’s site No. 6.
“After receiving the information, a police party reached the site, took control of the area and safely shifted the accused to the Komila police station,” the police said.
However, the police said that in the early hours of Monday, a large number of people reached Komila and once again blocked the Karakoram Highway. They also raised slogans, Dawn reported.

The protesters opened the Karakoram Highway for traffic after the police assured them of registration of an FIR. Local religious leaders also urged the demonstrators to call off the protest.
Later in the day, Naseeruddin said that the accused was moved to Abbottabad in an army helicopter as the police feared locals could harm him, Dawn reported.
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#Chinese #national #accused #blasphemy #shifted #Pakistan #Army #chopper
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 17, 2023
Chinese man wins 365 days paid leaves; Internet jealous

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An Instagram reel that mischievously went viral about “What is your dream job?” to which a voiceover replies, “Darling I have no dream job, I do not dream of labour” literally came true for this young man in China by winning a year’s paid leaves at a lucky draw in his company’s annual dinner party.
His name is not yet clear but his stars certainly aligned in the right manner as he held a giant cheque that read ‘365 days of paid leave’ in Chinese. The image has gone viral on Twitter.
According to Today Online, the chances of winning the paid leaves prize were extremely low. It reported that the lucky draw had prizes as well as penalties including a day or two of extra paid time off and serving as a waiter to others.

Chen, another employee of the company said that the event was being held after a gap of three pandemic years. She said the idea of the lucky draw was to boost the morale of employees. China has been recently imposing lockdowns due to frequent outbursts of the coronavirus.
His boss is naturally is very dumbfounded. As for the rest of the world, there are some of us on a Sunday writing this article.
*Sigh*
Subscribe us on

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#Chinese #man #wins #days #paid #leaves #Internet #jealous
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 16, 2023
Congress accuses Adani Group of having links with Chinese firm

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New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday accused the Adani Group of having business links with a Chinese company in all its infrastructure projects in roads, railways, ports and airport sectors, saying it posed a threat to national security.
The remarks prompted Law Minister Kiren Rijiju to hit back at the opposition party.
Responding to a tweet by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, Rijiju said, “Do not comment on sensitive matters. The Congress has no moral right to speak about Arunachal Pradesh.”

Ramesh had alleged that business tycoon Gautam Adani has business links with Chinese citizens. He wondered whether it was compromising national security.
The law minister also shared a video in which the then defence minister A K Antony is purportedly telling Lok Sabha that for long India had a policy not to develop borders as an undeveloped border was safer than a developed border.
“First respond to this reality,” Rijiju, who represents Arunachal Pradesh in the Lok Sabha, said.
Addressing a press conference, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said the company, fully owned by a Chinese national — Chang Chian Ting — was a subcontractor for the Adani Group and is a partner of Adani’s brother.
The Adani Group has not made any comments on the charges made by the Congress yet.

The firm had earlier denied indulging in wrongdoing.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also cited a media report and said on Twitter, “PMC Projects – Pradhan Mantri Chinese’ Projects?”
“Why are India’s critical ports, airstrips, railway tracks and electricity lines being built and controlled by a Chinese company?” he asked.
Shrinate said China made several transgressions along the border on the Indian side and killed 20 of our soldiers.
It changed names of places in Arunachal Pradesh thrice, but the links that a Chinese-owned company has with the Adani Group shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special relationship with China. “This is totally anti-national,” she said.
“If this is not a threat to national security, then what is?” she added.
The Congress spokesperson further alleged that Modi gave a clean chit to China because of “this relationship” and that is why, he has not broken his silence yet on either China or the Adani issue.
“The veil now stands lifted,” she said, and asked, “When will the government hold a probe into the Chinese company?”
Shrinate also asked the government to find the source of Rs 20,000 crore alleged to have been found deposited in “shell companies” of the Adani Group.
AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter, “Everyday the reason for the PM’s eloquent silence on Chinese is becoming evident. This is largely because of Adani’s intimate links to China. We had mentioned this first on March 3 in the ‘Hum Adanike Hain Kaun’ series and today there are further revelations.”
Congress leader Amitabh Dubey also said the Congress has asked several questions on China and the Adani issue, but the government is yet to break its silence.
“Now this is an issue of national security and they will have to reply,” he said.
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#Congress #accuses #Adani #Group #links #Chinese #firm
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 7, 2023
India-China border now stable, situation of ’emergency control’ over: Chinese diplomat

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Kolkata: The earlier situation of “emergency control” at the India-China border is a matter of the past, and overall it is stable at present, a senior Chinese diplomat said here.
Interacting with journalists on Friday evening, Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in India, Chen Jianjun, said the two Asian giants continue to maintain communication via diplomatic and military channels, promoting the transition of the border situation to “normalised management and control”.
“The current border situation is overall stable,” he said.
Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh on December 9, resulting in minor injuries to a few personnel from both sides. The clash near Yangtse in the sensitive sector took place amid the border standoff between the two sides in eastern Ladakh.
The ties between India and China nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two neighbours in decades.
“The Chinese side has always viewed and handled China-India relations from a strategic and long-term perspective. Although the relationship faces some difficulties, China’s position has never wavered and we have been committed to pushing it back on the track of healthy and steady development,” Jianjun said.
He said the two countries could draw strength from their ancient civilisations, and share oriental wisdom with the world, so as to jointly maintain the stability of the international order.
“In a world intertwined with changes and chaos, China and India could speak out loud for more institutional rights of developing countries. The two countries working together will bear on the future of Asia and beyond,” he added.

Jianjun said China supports India in fulfilling its role during its presidency of G20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
“China and India’s bilateral trade continues to grow. Cultural, scientific, technological, educational and other people-to-people exchanges and cooperation resume in an orderly manner,” he said.
The diplomat said China and India share similar positions on many regional and international issues, and have extensive common interests in South-South cooperation, development and poverty reduction, climate change and energy security.
“We believe that China and India could find a way for the neighbouring countries to live in peace and develop together, so as to realise the ‘Asian Century’,” he added.
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#IndiaChina #border #stable #situation #emergency #control #Chinese #diplomat
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 1, 2023
Bhutan-India relationship facing Chinese challenge, says Congress

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New Delhi: Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said that the Bhutan-India relationship is facing a Chinese challenge, which also poses a threat to the Siliguri Corridor – the land bridge to the northeastern states.
“Bhutan and India’s so far unshakeable relationship is facing a challenge from an aggressive China. We urge the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) to not hide behind smokescreens and ensure that this very long-standing partnership with Bhutan remains strong and is further deepened,” he said in a statement.
He said the Modi government presented the 2017 Doklam standoff as a “major victory”, but since then the Chinese have engaged in an unprecedented military infrastructure buildup in the area, and also built villages and roads adjacent to the Doklam plateau many kilometres inside Bhutanese territory.
“It is well-known that the adjacent Chumbi Valley poses a potential threat to India’s strategic Siliguri Corridor, the so-called Chicken’s Neck that connects the seven northeastern states with the rest of the country. In this context the remark by Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering that ‘there is no intrusion’ into Bhutan by China and that Beijing has an ‘equal’ say in any discussion over its illegal intrusions raises several concerns.”
The Congress leader also questioned if there a dilution in the unwavering Indian and Bhutanese contention that the tri-junction of India, China, and Bhutan lies at Batang La, and not at Mount Gipmochi as the Chinese claim? This could cause a serious problem for the security of the Siliguri Corridor, he warned.
The recent Chinese construction reportedly includes an all-weather road in the Amu Chu river basin inside Bhutan moving south towards the Jhamperi Ridge that overlooks the Siliguri Corridor. “Is China eyeing the coveted Jhamperi Ridge from a new angle? What is India doing to defend Bhutan and to prevent the Chinese from reaching this important geographical feature?
“When will the Modi government respond to China’s renewed verbal, geographical and military aggression?” Ramesh asked.

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#BhutanIndia #relationship #facing #Chinese #challenge #Congress
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 30, 2023
Prosecutors: Bankman-Fried bribed Chinese officials in 2021

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With the new charge alleging conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Bankman-Fried now faces 13 criminal counts that include securities fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter. His criminal trial is scheduled to begin in October.
Bankman-Fried’s spokesperson declined comment. His legal team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Prior to FTX’s bankruptcy in November and his eventual arrest in the Bahamas, Bankman-Fried controlled one of the most powerful networks of crypto exchanges and trading firms in the world. He’d also cultivated an image as an honest broker among Washington policymakers and media members, dispensing hundreds of millions of dollars in political contributions, philanthropic donations and grants.
FTX’s bankruptcy and Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial derailed ongoing efforts in Congress and within federal agencies to develop a rulebook for the nascent cryptoasset industry, which has since faced a broad crackdown on practices that industry skeptics say have harmed consumers and investors.
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#Prosecutors #BankmanFried #bribed #Chinese #officials
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 28, 2023
The military’s blame game over the Chinese spy balloon spills into the open

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The debate hinges on when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sought U.S. Northern Command head Gen. Glen VanHerck’s military advice on the best way to handle the balloon. VanHerck told lawmakers during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday that he did not speak to Austin about the situation until Feb. 1 — five days after the intelligence community made top officials aware of its presence.
But Austin’s spokesperson says VanHerck gave his “iterative recommendations” throughout the crisis, and the Pentagon chief was in “frequent communication” with top generals about military options.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and other Republican lawmakers have repeatedly demanded answers from the administration about what top decision-makers knew about the balloon incursion and when they knew it. On Monday, Wicker slammed “inconsistencies” between Austin’s timeline of events and VanHerck’s.
“Recent testimony from General VanHerck has revealed glaring inconsistencies between NORTHCOM’s understanding of the timeline as compared to what Secretary Austin and Undersecretary Kahl have told the public,” Wicker said in a statement, referring to Pentagon policy chief Colin Kahl. “If the United States is going to learn from this national security event, then we have to have clear answers from the Biden administration.”
Republican senators also used Thursday’s hearing to blame the Biden administration for mishandling the crisis, with Wicker accusing Austin and President Joe Biden of delaying action.
“So on the fifth day, it is apparent that you took the right steps,” Wicker told VanHerck at the hearing. “But it’s also clear that you received no direction from the president of the United States or the secretary of Defense until the fifth day of this crisis, by which point the balloon had traversed Alaska and Canada and then reentered the United States.”
Republican lawmakers, and even some Democratic ones, have said the decision to allow the balloon to continue its trek showed weakness to China.
“I think it was a bad mistake to let a Chinese spy balloon float all across America,” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). “I think that is a dangerous precedent set not just with China, but with all of our adversaries.”

Cotton and Wicker will have a chance on Tuesday to press Austin himself on the timeline when he joins Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley for a Senate Armed Services hearing on the Pentagon’s budget request.
New details have emerged about the timeline.
While VanHerck told lawmakers he was first made aware of the balloon on Jan. 27, a DoD official said that intelligence officials did not immediately convey a sense of alarm, as they had briefed Northern Command on the Chinese surveillance balloon program a few months earlier. However, it was the first time they had detected such a craft in this location. It was heading toward Alaska; previous balloons had taken equatorial routes. The official was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations.
VanHerck told lawmakers on Thursday that he spoke with Milley on the evening of Jan. 27 about his plan to send armed fighter jets to intercept the object the next day. But given that it did not display “hostile intent,” he did not have the legal authority to shoot it down, he explained to senators; that rested with Biden or Austin.
Northern Command, working with the intelligence community, put together a prediction of the balloon’s route, but at the time they did not believe it would travel across the entirety of the continental United States, the DoD official said.
On Jan. 28, VanHerck officially notified Milley and Austin via classified email that the balloon had entered U.S. airspace, he told lawmakers. He also tasked his team with developing options to take out the balloon if the president or defense secretary chose to do so, he said.
Overnight into Jan. 29, the balloon left U.S. airspace and entered Canada. Northern Command continued monitoring the inflatable, in coordination with the Canadian government, and VanHerck provided updates via email to Austin and Milley every 12 hours, he said.
However, Austin did not ask the general for his recommendation until 7 a.m. on Feb. 1, the first time the two had spoken by phone directly since the incursion, the DoD official said. At that point, the general advised the secretary not to shoot it down because it was flying over land and there was a significant risk of damage to civilians in crashing the inflatable. Instead, VanHerck recommended waiting until the balloon was over water to take it out.
“He was prepared at every moment to provide a recommendation, and always provided as asked, the options and recommendations when asked,” the DoD official said. “They could have asked for it every hour.”
Austin’s office had a different narrative. A spokesperson said the secretary expected VanHerck and other military leaders to continuously provide recommendations, and the general did so throughout the crisis.
“As was the case here, the secretary expects and relies on his commanders to provide recommendations on a range of issues continuously,” said Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh. “Gen. VanHerck provided his iterative recommendations and updates to the chairman and secretary throughout.”
Like VanHerck, Austin was notified about the presence of the balloon heading toward U.S. airspace by his senior military assistant on Jan. 27. Austin, who was set to leave for South Korea and the Philippines on a previously scheduled trip on Jan. 29, began receiving daily updates from Northern Command, which immediately began to develop options to “better characterize the incursion” in conjunction with the Canadian military, she said.
Singh added that the general did not tell Austin and Milley that he was looking at options to take down the balloon — should the president direct that course of action, or if the balloon became a threat to air traffic — until Jan. 29.
On Jan. 31, the balloon re-entered U.S. airspace over northern Idaho. Biden, through his national security adviser, then directed the military to develop options to shoot down the balloon. At that point, Austin, through Milley, asked for those options from the commanders, Singh said.
The next day, from the Philippines, Austin convened a meeting with Milley, VanHerck, Kahl and other senior military commanders to review the options to take down the balloon safely “while closely monitoring its path and intelligence collection activities,” Singh said.
After this point, Feb. 1, the timelines are consistent. That day, VanHerck scrambled F-22 fighter jets from Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, to be in place should the president decide to order a shootdown of the balloon, which at that point was flying over Montana.
VanHerck and Milley recommended that if Biden were to direct a shootdown, it should happen over water to minimize the risk to civilians and infrastructure from falling debris. At that point, Biden gave the military the order to take out the balloon as soon as that risk could be mitigated.
Austin returned from his trip Feb. 2 and convened a meeting with senior military officials again on Feb. 3 as they developed a plan to shoot down the inflatable. Ultimately, the military took out the balloon with a Sidewinder missile shot from an F-22 off the East Coast.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 28, 2023
Why Saudi-Iran Rapprochement Is Chinese Victory?

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by Asad Mirza
The manner in which China has brokered a peace deal between arch-foes, Saudi Arabia and Iran, it may help China to emerge as a global peacemaker, eclipsing the USA.
President Xi Jinping with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman (Mbs) in Riyadh on December 9, 2022
Last week a major diplomatic coup was staged by China, when it announced the results of its successfully mediated efforts, of bringing two old foes to the negotiating table and signing a friendship deal.
The Chinese-brokered Saudi-Iran rapprochement comes as a major diplomatic breakthrough between two regional neighbours after years of mutual animosity, suspected attacks and tales of rivalry between the two countries.
The move also represents Beijing’s first foray into Middle Eastern politics, an area that has always been regarded as a prerogative of the US, since when most of these nations become a free and independent entities, after the end of the colonial era.
On March 10, both Riyadh and Tehran announced that after seven years of severed ties, they would reopen embassies and missions within two months and implement security and economic cooperation agreements signed more than 20 years ago.
Much of the world was stunned when the two arch-rivals announced they were restoring diplomatic relations, this was not only because of the breakthrough after years of mutual animosity but because of the mediator, who played a key role in bringing the foes to the negotiating table, i.e. the Chinese government.
By this move, China has ostensibly taken up a role that the US could not have fulfilled, or it never tried to perform that role. In addition, this also comes as Beijing’s first major diplomatic foray into the Middle East mediation, an area where often rivalries are built around nuances and subtleties, which are hard to fathom for an outsider, though in recent times they have up the shape of hardnosed economic and strategic interests.

Apparently, the Saudis had been engaged in talks with Iran from around the same time as the Al Ula Summit held in Saudi in 2021, which ended the blockade of Qatar and mended the internal rifts of the Gulf Cooperation Council. In the subsequent two years, the United Arab Emirates restored its diplomatic relations with Iran and even replaced China as Iran’s top import partner; Kuwait, too, has returned its ambassador to Tehran.
The negotiations between Iran and Saudi Arabia since 2021 largely took place in Iraq and Oman. Other regional countries, including Kuwait and Pakistan, had attempted to arrange for talks between Tehran and Riyadh on numerous occasions in the past seven years, which were largely unsuccessful.
As tensions simmer between the world’s two largest economies: the US and China, US policymakers had sounded an alarm over competition and security concerns with China, but what does Beijing’s ascendance in the region mean for the Middle East – and for the larger US interests?
In recent times, China has been pushing for reconfiguring the regional security architecture in the Persian Gulf since 2020. In a UN Security Council meeting arranged by Russia in October 2020, China presented its proposal for security and stability in the Gulf region, arguing that with a multilateral effort, the region can become “an Oasis of Security.”
Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to resume diplomatic relations after four days of intensive previously undisclosed talks in Beijing.
Apparently, the edifice of this Chinese plan to transform into a global peacemaker seems to be the Global Security Initiative – GSI, which was unveiled by Chinese President Xi Jinping in February 2023. It is portrayed as a banner for China to reform the current international security order, especially at a time when the US is prioritising alignment with countries that share the same political system and ideology, through its Democracy Summit.
Mainly, with growing power and influence China has a fair say in international peace and security architecture building. The GSI Concept Paper released by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in February 2023 identified “bringing about security changes through political dialogue and peaceful negotiation” as core concepts and principles.
China’s successful brokering of the peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran has given it confidence that this track could work. The aspiration is that China can fill the gap in regions the US has failed to lead or ignore.
According to the Chinese understanding of the region, Iran and Saudi Arabia are “pivot countries” whose political, economic, and military power make them indispensable partners for Beijing, making balance between the two the most consequential strategy.
For both countries, China is the largest trading partner. Beijing has granted Tehran and Riyadh the status of comprehensive strategic partners – the highest in China’s partnership diplomacy in the Middle East.
Asad Mirza
But China’s balancing act is more articulated than just signing similar partnership agreements with both partners. While economic relations are unequivocally unbalanced in Saudi Arabia’s favour, China guarantees Iran political support and a financial lifeline in the face of US pressure. Yet, offering different goods to equal partners often shakes the balancing act. In December, the joint China-GCC communiqué that followed Chinese President Xi Jingpin’s trip to Saudi Arabia generated anger in Iran, exposing the limits of China’s diplomacy from the sidelines.
The GSI Concept Paper also emphasises the need to support political settlements of hotspot issues such as the war in Ukraine. Therefore, President Xi’s efforts to promote a political settlement to the Russia-Ukraine conflict would be essential to watch. If another success is achieved after his Russia visit, it may lend more credence to the GSI.
(Asad Mirza is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. In his career spanning more than 20 years, he was also associated with BBC Urdu Service and Khaleej Times of Dubai. Views are personal.)

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#SaudiIran #Rapprochement #Chinese #Victory
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

March 26, 2023
Uyughur woman, teacher testify of torture, brainwashing in Chinese camps to US Congress

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Washington: Two women who say they experienced and escaped Chinese “re-education camps” have provided first-hand testimony to members of the US Congress, giving harrowing detail while imploring Americans not to look away from what Washington has declared a continuing genocide of Muslim ethnic minorities.
Testifying before a special House committee on Thursday, Gulbahar Haitiwaji, an Uyghur woman, said that during her nearly three years in internment camps and police stations, prisoners were subjected to 11 hours of “brainwashing education” each day, the Guardian reported.
It included singing patriotic songs and praising the Chinese government before and after meals.
Haitiwaji said detainees were punished for speaking in Uyghur and endured routine interrogations during which they were hooded and shackled to their chairs.
On one occasion, she said, she was chained to her bed for 20 days.
Female prisoners were told they would be vaccinated, when they were being sterilised, the Guardian reported.
“There are cameras all over the camp,” Haitiwaji said. “Our every move was monitored.”
She said in written testimony that after her head was shaved, she had a feeling of “losing my sense of self, losing my ability to even remember the faces of my family members”, the Guardian reported.

Qelbinur Sidik, a member of China’s ethnic Uzbek minority who is now a human rights activist living in the Netherlands, told of being coerced by Chinese authorities into teaching classes at one of China’s internment camps.
Through a translator, she described the detention facilities as “like a war zone” with razor wire fencing and armed guards.
Sidik recalled hearing the “horrible screaming sounds” of Uyghur prisoners as they were tortured, the Guardian reported.
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#Uyughur #woman #teacher #testify #torture #brainwashing #Chinese #camps #Congress
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 24, 2023